Stroud Green Festival 2021 launched on Sunday 18 July with one pre-festival event followed by 2 mini festivals in early September (at Holy Trinity Church, Stroud Green) and mid October.

All events will follow social distancing guidelines at the time of the event. The September events (except Event 5 which will be inside) will take place outside in the garden of Holy Trinity Church (Stroud Green N4 4EL). In the event of rain, the events will be moved to inside the church, again with socially distanced seating areas. The October events will take place at St Mellitus Church and Church Hall (Tollington Park N4 3AG).

Pre-Festival July Event

EVENT 1: Sunday 18th July, 7.30pm – 8.30pm

Holy Trinity Church Gardens, Granville Road, Stroud Green N4 4EL

Top Selling Songs of Summer 1941

80 years ago, when people bought music to play at home, which tunes really flew off the shelves? Patricia and Matt perform songs that sold the most copies of sheet music in the UK 80 years ago, according to contemporary sales figures, using the sheet music itself. Hear the music that was not only played on the wireless and the great hotels, but at home! To be included: Amapola, Waltzing in the Clouds, When they Sound the Last All-Clear, Sand in my Shoes, Room 504, The King is Still in London, I've Got Sixpence, and Apple Blossom Time.

Patricia Hammond mezzo

Matt Redman multi-instrumentalist

Tickets: https://SGF-1941.eventbrite.co.uk

September Festival

EVENT 2: Thursday 2nd September, 7.30pm - 8.30pm

Holy Trinity Church Gardens, Granville Road, Stroud Green N4 4EL

Opera on Unusual Instruments

Almost as long as opera and operetta have been in existence, people have adapted its great arias to perform at home, on street corners, or at the club, adapting the keys to fit both the instrument and the singers available. Enjoy multi-instrumentalist Matt Redman's collection of hundred-year-old mandolins, banjos, guitars and accordion as he collaborates with mezzo-soprano Patricia Hammond for some unexpected but familiar numbers from La Boheme, Don Giovanni, the Magic Flute, Louise, Samson et Dalila, the Merry Widow and maybe a bit of G&S!

Patricia Hammond mezzo

Matt Redman multi-instrumentalist

EVENT 3: Friday 3rd September, 7.30pm - 8.30pm

Holy Trinity Church Gardens, Granville Road, Stroud Green N4 4EL

Working from Home

Working from Home isn't just a C21st lockdown phenomenon; it's something women have been doing for centuries. In this light-hearted performance, a group of exceptional singer-actors take a side-ways look at the lives of some inspiring historic women composers, writers and scientists, revealing some unexpected stories of Working from Home.

Expect delightful folk song settings by IMOGEN HOLST; tall tales of foreign travel by MARY MAXWELL CAMPBELL (1812-1886); stirring anthems from ETHEL SMYTH (1858-1944) and ELIZA FLOWER (1803-1846); the poetry of C16th natural philosopher MARGARET CAVENDISH and C21st Scottish Gaelic Bard, SANDY NICDHÒMHNAILL JONES; Children's Rounds by NICOLA LEFANU; a curious carcinological limerick, and a potpourri of musical fun, frolics and heartache by local composer FRANCES M LYNCH.

Please note this performance will be filmed.

Electric Voice Theatre

Acapella Quartet

EVENT 4: Saturday 4th September, 7.30pm - 8.30pm

Holy Trinity Church Gardens, Granville Road, Stroud Green N4 4EL

Colour of the Earth

Songs old and new from family acapella trio

Davies & Daughters

EVENT 5: Sunday 5th September, 7.30pm - 8.30pm

Holy Trinity Church, Granville Road, Stroud Green N4 4EL

Memorial for The Telling mezzo Ariane Prüssner

The Telling’s Clare Norburn and Jean Kelly perform a mix of early, traditional and Sephardic songs in memory of their mezzo singing partner, the late and great Ariane Prüssner, with some special footage captured on film of Ariane herself.

Please note this performance will be filmed.

Clare Norburn soprano

Jean Kelly harp

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October Festival

Friday 15th October, 7.30pm - 9pm

St Mellitus Church Hall, Tollington Park N4 3AG

I, Spie

A spell-binding new “concertplay”

The imagined story of John Dowland, as he combines his life as a court musician/composer with the Elizabethan espionage underworld. Think “Spooks, 16th Century-style”.

With Elizabethan tavern, street & courtly music from The Telling

“mesmerising” The Guardian

The Telling

Saturday 30th October, 2pm - 3pm

St Mellitus Church, Tollington Park N4 3AG

Organ Recital

A recital showcasing the newly restored organ at St Mellitus, featuring music both old and new, including repertoire reflecting the instrument’s fascinating history.

Marion Bettsworth organist

TBC Events in October

This recital champions the long-neglected and belittled genre of the domestic, or "parlour" song. This particular form of music-making was the only one, historically, to which women had free and unlimited access. Thus it's also the form that tells women composers' greatest triumphs: the self-made millionaire Carrie Jacobs-Bond; Amy Woodforde-Finden whose songs inspired perfumes, silent films, hats and furniture; Liza Lehmann, the first president of the Society of Women Musicians; and the melodious, almost folk-like songs of political campaigner Caroline Sheridan Norton. See mezzo-soprano Patricia Hammond, soprano Clare Norburn, pianist Andrea Kmecova and multi-instrumentalist Matt Redman bring the parlour to life, and these songs and stories along with it. Clare and Patricia will sing a selection from the 1830s to the 1930s, including duet arrangements of Jacobs-Bond's 1901 mega-hit "A Perfect Day" and May Brahe's best-selling "Bless This House" from 1927.

Relive a time before record players or radios, when home-played music was an integral part of a beautiful household, and music that had its effect quickly and simply was valued above all others.

Clare Norburn soprano

Patricia Hammond mezzo

Andrea Kemkova pianist

Matt Redman multi-instrumentalist